I was thinking about friends today. I have a best friend and about 5 others I would count as my closest friends (excluding family). Each of these people have come into my life in a different way. Some come from that moment in your life when you say, "Hey, let's be best friends!" and you are. Some have just always been there and we have so many shared memories and experiences that to not be their friend would just not be right and would leave a huge gap in your life. Some you connect with the moment you meet them and after a day or two, not being their friend would feel just as strange as those whom you have known your whole life. Some you have a lot in common with and so a friendship naturally develops. But however they have come into my life and how long or short a time they have been there they have all taught me things and blessed me in so many ways, most of which I probably won't fully grasp until heaven.
I'm so grateful that God did not intend for us to walk through this life alone. That He gave us people to encourage us, challenge us, make us laugh, pray for us and with us, and to just be there. I need people in my life, even when I outwardly deny that fact it still holds true. So to all my true friends out there, please don't give up on me yet. I know i fail and I know I'm grumpy and not always fun to be around. Thanks for loving me anyway.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Look Elsewhere...
My thoughts have been anything but deep today. It's one of those days when it seems like just doing the next thing is an accomplishment. I had big plans for all the cleaning I was going to get done today - bathroom, bookshelves, closets...I managed the fridge and two drawers in my bathroom. So how do you cope with those days that seem pointless and mundane? When you wonder if there really is a purpose to anything? When you feel like you have nothing to look forward to in life?
So don't look to me for inspiration today, but let me point you to a couple others...
"Waiting on the Lord is a confident, disciplined, expectant, active, and sometimes painful clinging to God. Waiting on the Lord is the continual, daily decision to say, 'I will trust You, and I will obey You. Even though the circumstances of my life are not turning out the way I want them to, and may never turn out the way I would choose, I am betting everything on You. I have no plan B.'" - John Ortberg
"Standing still on some occasions is the paramount duty of the follower of Christ. There are times when we must be merely onlookers--when the flesh and the brain refuse to work, hopes shrivel like autumn leaves, and we simply do not know which way to turn. It may be just then that we shall learn for the first time how to stand still in perfect peace and quietness of soul. Not idling away our time, not hopelessly limp and heedless of the outcome--but working on in such ways as may be given to us. Observing with eager joy the way in which God will work it all out to a perfectly glorious ending. All our little fussiness and haste, all our strong anxiety and warping care are as futile as the tugging of a little child's hand at the great iron knob of a closed and barred gate through which his loving father does not to care to have him go just then." - Elisabeth Elliot
So don't look to me for inspiration today, but let me point you to a couple others...
"Waiting on the Lord is a confident, disciplined, expectant, active, and sometimes painful clinging to God. Waiting on the Lord is the continual, daily decision to say, 'I will trust You, and I will obey You. Even though the circumstances of my life are not turning out the way I want them to, and may never turn out the way I would choose, I am betting everything on You. I have no plan B.'" - John Ortberg
"Standing still on some occasions is the paramount duty of the follower of Christ. There are times when we must be merely onlookers--when the flesh and the brain refuse to work, hopes shrivel like autumn leaves, and we simply do not know which way to turn. It may be just then that we shall learn for the first time how to stand still in perfect peace and quietness of soul. Not idling away our time, not hopelessly limp and heedless of the outcome--but working on in such ways as may be given to us. Observing with eager joy the way in which God will work it all out to a perfectly glorious ending. All our little fussiness and haste, all our strong anxiety and warping care are as futile as the tugging of a little child's hand at the great iron knob of a closed and barred gate through which his loving father does not to care to have him go just then." - Elisabeth Elliot
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Heritage
We recently cleaned out our shed due to a rat infestion which I am sure you DON'T want to hear the details of. Buried in the back corner we discovered my dishes. Yes, I have a set of dishes inherited from my grandparents who knows how many years ago. They have been sitting in the shed ever since. I was pretty excited to pull them out because I remember loving them as a kid, but my tastes have changed a bit in the last few years so I was curious what I was going to think of them now.
I LOVE THEM!!! They're pink and have pictures of english castles and countrysides. They are like a little girls fairy tale dishes. Eight place setting, serving dishes, a complete tea service with twelve cups and saucers...here, let me just show you:
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| Dinner Plate (duh...) |
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| Detail inside bowls |
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| Bonus points to anyone who knows what this dish is for (I know, but do you?) |
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| I even have egg cups!!! |
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| Bonus: 8 dessert plates and goblets! Yes, honest to goodness goblets! Jealous? |
Okay, so as you can tell, I'm pretty excited about these dishes. I had fun washing them last night and repacking them this morning. (They are now safely housed in my closet AWAY from the rats.) And hopefully someday soon I'll be able to pull them out and actually put them to use.
I'm thankful for the inheritance my grandparents left me. Not just the dishes. I'm grateful for the way they chose to live their lives and the choices they made. I'm grateful for the wisdom they passed on to my parents. A lot of who I am is because of them and the generations before. It makes me rethink some of the choices I make. How will my children and grandchildren and great grandchildren be affected by my decisions?
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Brick Walls and Chalk Drawings
So what are you doing this fall? What new, exciting things are happening in your life? What are your plans for the future?
Okay, I'm just going to say it. I HATE THIS QUESTION. All forms of it. Especially when you have nothing to say and so people assume you're just being secretive. Believe me, I'm not that good at keeping my mouth shut, if something big is going on in my life you're going to hear about it. Sorry, I'm done ranting now (...well, for the moment at least). But now that I've spent two days telling you what has been going on, the logical next step would be to tell you what my future plans are...and I would LOVE to tell you...if I had any clue whatsoever...
I feel like I've been up against a brick wall for quite a while now. I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing or what direction I'm supposed to be taking my life. I'm not sure if feeling restless is God's way of prompting me to move on in life or if He's just trying to teach me contentment. I've been feeling the absence of God's leading in my life - not the absence of God, I've very much felt Him lately. He just seems to be awfully silent.
As I've spent the last couple days reviewing my summer I got to thinking, what was the point? Summer was fun and all, but I'm still here, in the same spot, facing the same brick wall, and I can't see a way around or through it.
The other day I saw some kids out in front of their house making chalk drawings on the sidewalk. Maybe that's what my summer has been. Maybe I've spent the last two months with chalk in my hands decorating my brick wall. Has it changed the fact that the brick wall is there? No, but maybe I just needed to step back and get a new perspective, maybe add a little color to something that seems overwhelmingly huge and solid. The brick wall is still there but maybe it's a little more fun to look at and it doesn't seem so intimidating. The brick wall hasn't changed but maybe my perspective has and maybe now I'll be able to see my way around it.
(Or maybe I'm just losing my mind...that's always a possibility...)
Okay, I'm just going to say it. I HATE THIS QUESTION. All forms of it. Especially when you have nothing to say and so people assume you're just being secretive. Believe me, I'm not that good at keeping my mouth shut, if something big is going on in my life you're going to hear about it. Sorry, I'm done ranting now (...well, for the moment at least). But now that I've spent two days telling you what has been going on, the logical next step would be to tell you what my future plans are...and I would LOVE to tell you...if I had any clue whatsoever...
I feel like I've been up against a brick wall for quite a while now. I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing or what direction I'm supposed to be taking my life. I'm not sure if feeling restless is God's way of prompting me to move on in life or if He's just trying to teach me contentment. I've been feeling the absence of God's leading in my life - not the absence of God, I've very much felt Him lately. He just seems to be awfully silent.
As I've spent the last couple days reviewing my summer I got to thinking, what was the point? Summer was fun and all, but I'm still here, in the same spot, facing the same brick wall, and I can't see a way around or through it.
The other day I saw some kids out in front of their house making chalk drawings on the sidewalk. Maybe that's what my summer has been. Maybe I've spent the last two months with chalk in my hands decorating my brick wall. Has it changed the fact that the brick wall is there? No, but maybe I just needed to step back and get a new perspective, maybe add a little color to something that seems overwhelmingly huge and solid. The brick wall is still there but maybe it's a little more fun to look at and it doesn't seem so intimidating. The brick wall hasn't changed but maybe my perspective has and maybe now I'll be able to see my way around it.
(Or maybe I'm just losing my mind...that's always a possibility...)
Monday, September 3, 2012
What I Did this Summer Part 2
August brings two more of my favorite traditions: Canoe Trip and our annual family camping trip.
The Canoe Trip is one of our annual youth group events. On Thursday afternoon we load up all our gear and head to the Santiam River. We spend the next 3 days canoeing and the next 3 nights camping on the riverbank. On Saturday we merge into the Willamette and on Sunday afternoon we pull out in Independence. This was my seventh Canoe trip and I have amazing memories (both good and bad) from the last six. This was (like camp) kind of a bittersweet year. A handful of people that have been going on canoe trips longer than I, were unable to make it this year and I had to find myself a new canoe partner (I've had the same one for the last three years) and I wasn't super excited about this. But the trip turned out great. I got to spend 4 days in a canoe with one of the sweetest girls alive, the sun shone brightly on us, and I didn't tip my canoe. We did discover after our Friday night bath/swim that there are leeches in the river...who knew?
The Canoe Trip is one of our annual youth group events. On Thursday afternoon we load up all our gear and head to the Santiam River. We spend the next 3 days canoeing and the next 3 nights camping on the riverbank. On Saturday we merge into the Willamette and on Sunday afternoon we pull out in Independence. This was my seventh Canoe trip and I have amazing memories (both good and bad) from the last six. This was (like camp) kind of a bittersweet year. A handful of people that have been going on canoe trips longer than I, were unable to make it this year and I had to find myself a new canoe partner (I've had the same one for the last three years) and I wasn't super excited about this. But the trip turned out great. I got to spend 4 days in a canoe with one of the sweetest girls alive, the sun shone brightly on us, and I didn't tip my canoe. We did discover after our Friday night bath/swim that there are leeches in the river...who knew?
(Notice that I am now inserting picture into my blogs. Yes, I WILL get the hang of this!)
Less than two days after canoe trip, my family headed out on our annual camping trip. We've spent a little more than a week at Ft. Stevens State Park every summer for 31 years! For those of you that have never been there I highly recommend it! Ft. Stevens is full of history from the Civil War all the way up to WWII, also near by is Ft. Clatsop if Lewis and Clark is more your area of interest. There's so much to see and do if you enjoy history. And if you don't enjoy history there's miles of bike paths and trails, a lake, the ocean, and you're close to Astoria and Seaside. We never run out of things to do.
Just to be clear, I LOVE CAMPING!!! In fact, there are few things I love more than sitting around a campfire and sleeping in a tent. There's just something about it that makes me happy. Actually, I'm pretty sure I would be content living in a tent most of the time and my sleeping bag is good down to 15 degrees so at least in Oregon I probably could do it year round...hmm, something to think about...
For the first 5 days it was just myself and my parents and since we've seen everything many times we take advantage of the time to simply relax. This usually means one fairly long bike ride during the day and then just sitting around camp reading, sleeping, and playing games. My brother and his family were able to join us for the last 4 days. Unfortunately, the day they arrived was the day it started raining. It's hard to camp with 7 little ones when it's pouring rain. Solution: turn the cargo trailer into a movie theater - problem solved! Thankfully, God answered our prayers and the rain stopped that night and the next day was gorgeous.
One of our yearly traditions is to spend one morning in Seaside. We have breakfast at Pig n' Pancake and then go ride the Bumper Cars and the Tilt-A-Whirl while the abundant breakfast is still sitting heavily in our stomachs. This is one of the places that helped me develop my love of rides early in life and now I get to watch my nieces and nephews laugh hysterically while they get sick to their stomachs. It doesn't get much better than that!
A new favorite activity (and hopefully future tradition) that we discovered this year was marshmallow guns. A simple design out of PVC pipe and a bag of mini marshmallows creates hours of entertainment...and several bouts of tears. You'd be amazed at how much a marshmallow in the eye can hurt. I even ended up with a couple of slight bruises on my arm from some of dads especially powerful shots. But, all in all, the kids loved it...okay the adults loved it just as much if not more than the kids (and we cried less). In fact I'm pretty sure Dad, Matt, and I were the last ones battling it out up at the lake.
So that was my summer in a nutshell. Lots of fun had, lots of memories made, and now, back to life...sigh...
Sunday, September 2, 2012
What I Did this Summer Part 1
When you were a kid, what was the first thing your teacher had you do when you started school in the fall? Yep, the classic "What I Did this Summer" writing assignment. Seems like a good place to start. So for today here's a quick recap of the month of July.
July 1-15 brought one of my favorite summer traditions: working at summer camp. I have great memories of going to summer camp growing up and I have even better memories of serving at summer camp for the last several years. I have volunteered off and on since 1997, but 2012 marks my eighth consecutive year of cabin leading at Camp of the Risen Son.
I LOVE this part of my summer. I love the innocence of the junior campers, the drama of middle school, and the spiritual depth and maturity of High School. Yes, it's not always that simple. Every camp has it's share of drama and tears and sometimes my little girls are not nearly as innocent as I think they should be and sometimes I just want to put my hand over their mouth and tell them to SHUT IT!!! But no matter what the challenges, there are always unforgettable memories made.
One of my favorite things about camp the last couple years is getting to share the experience with my family. For the last 3 years, various family members have served at camp and my nephews and nieces are old enough to come as campers. This year there were 7 Robys at Junior camp!!! My brother and his wife served with me as cabin leaders, my dad helped in the kitchen and two nephews and one niece came as campers. I love watching my family fall in love with the same things I love and make great memories of their own. It brings me a lot of joy. But along with the joy of family, there was also some bitter-sweetness to this year. For many years there has been a consistency in the staff and several of us have come back year after year. Many of those faithful volunteers have moved into new phases of their lives (new babies, new jobs, new schools) and did not return to camp this summer. I experienced several moments when I was overwhelmed with sadness at not getting to serve alongside them and not being able to share the inside jokes that come with years of working together. At times I definitely felt like the old-timer. But there were also new friendships and new memories and new jokes and I was greatly blessed by the people I got to serve with, new or old!
Favorite memories this year include:
-Promising my cabin that I'd go polar bear swimming with them IF the entire cabin goes (banking on the fact that there's always one girl who refuses) and being woken up at 6:30 by 6 shivering girls in bathing suits.
-Being allowed to quiz with my cabin the last day of high school camp and quizzing out!
-Mud Ball - a new game invented by one of our staff because of the rain and the mud pit it created in the field. Think ultimate football...on your knees...with lots of shoving...in lots of mud.
And, of course...
-Bible Smugglers! Always a favorite game but I got a new perspective this year. For the first time ever, I got to play the part of the underground church.
The second half of July was pretty average, not a whole lot going on. I spent most of it house sitting out in the country. There was lots of wildlife to watch...deer, nutria, even saw a weasel a one point...a random goat roaming the property...but my favorite was sitting on the porch swing at dusk and watching the bats fly around. (I know that's kind of creepy but they fascinate me).
Speaking of bats, another July highlight was attending the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises. (Like I said, I love watching bats...)
Three other things worth mentioning: I ran my first 5k! Yes, I was pretty proud of myself. We held our second annual all girls food fight at youth group. There's nothing quite like being covered in mashed potatoes, oatmeal, pudding, jello, and noodles...especially when you dye them red, blue, and green! And I celebrated another birthday including dinner with family and frozen yogurt with my best friend. Next time you see me you should ask me about the sweet gift I got from my family.
Tomorrow: What I Did this Summer Part 2 (I know you're excited but try to contain yourself...)
July 1-15 brought one of my favorite summer traditions: working at summer camp. I have great memories of going to summer camp growing up and I have even better memories of serving at summer camp for the last several years. I have volunteered off and on since 1997, but 2012 marks my eighth consecutive year of cabin leading at Camp of the Risen Son.
I LOVE this part of my summer. I love the innocence of the junior campers, the drama of middle school, and the spiritual depth and maturity of High School. Yes, it's not always that simple. Every camp has it's share of drama and tears and sometimes my little girls are not nearly as innocent as I think they should be and sometimes I just want to put my hand over their mouth and tell them to SHUT IT!!! But no matter what the challenges, there are always unforgettable memories made.
One of my favorite things about camp the last couple years is getting to share the experience with my family. For the last 3 years, various family members have served at camp and my nephews and nieces are old enough to come as campers. This year there were 7 Robys at Junior camp!!! My brother and his wife served with me as cabin leaders, my dad helped in the kitchen and two nephews and one niece came as campers. I love watching my family fall in love with the same things I love and make great memories of their own. It brings me a lot of joy. But along with the joy of family, there was also some bitter-sweetness to this year. For many years there has been a consistency in the staff and several of us have come back year after year. Many of those faithful volunteers have moved into new phases of their lives (new babies, new jobs, new schools) and did not return to camp this summer. I experienced several moments when I was overwhelmed with sadness at not getting to serve alongside them and not being able to share the inside jokes that come with years of working together. At times I definitely felt like the old-timer. But there were also new friendships and new memories and new jokes and I was greatly blessed by the people I got to serve with, new or old!
Favorite memories this year include:
-Promising my cabin that I'd go polar bear swimming with them IF the entire cabin goes (banking on the fact that there's always one girl who refuses) and being woken up at 6:30 by 6 shivering girls in bathing suits.
-Being allowed to quiz with my cabin the last day of high school camp and quizzing out!
-Mud Ball - a new game invented by one of our staff because of the rain and the mud pit it created in the field. Think ultimate football...on your knees...with lots of shoving...in lots of mud.
And, of course...
-Bible Smugglers! Always a favorite game but I got a new perspective this year. For the first time ever, I got to play the part of the underground church.
The second half of July was pretty average, not a whole lot going on. I spent most of it house sitting out in the country. There was lots of wildlife to watch...deer, nutria, even saw a weasel a one point...a random goat roaming the property...but my favorite was sitting on the porch swing at dusk and watching the bats fly around. (I know that's kind of creepy but they fascinate me).
Speaking of bats, another July highlight was attending the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises. (Like I said, I love watching bats...)
Three other things worth mentioning: I ran my first 5k! Yes, I was pretty proud of myself. We held our second annual all girls food fight at youth group. There's nothing quite like being covered in mashed potatoes, oatmeal, pudding, jello, and noodles...especially when you dye them red, blue, and green! And I celebrated another birthday including dinner with family and frozen yogurt with my best friend. Next time you see me you should ask me about the sweet gift I got from my family.
Tomorrow: What I Did this Summer Part 2 (I know you're excited but try to contain yourself...)
Saturday, September 1, 2012
September
Okay, so turns out I'm not so good at blogging...
I have good intentions but I lack inspiration. Sounds like a lot of things in my life.
So here's my goal for the month of September: Blog Every Day
If I commit to write, then I commit to think. And, yes, I think quite a bit, but lately I just tend to dwell on the surface issues and let myself get irritated or frustrated or depressed instead of thinking through surface issues to the root causes and dealing with them. So basically for the month of September I'm committing to think. I can't promise you that all my thoughts will be deep or even worth reading, but I promise that I'll share them with you.
I have good intentions but I lack inspiration. Sounds like a lot of things in my life.
So here's my goal for the month of September: Blog Every Day
If I commit to write, then I commit to think. And, yes, I think quite a bit, but lately I just tend to dwell on the surface issues and let myself get irritated or frustrated or depressed instead of thinking through surface issues to the root causes and dealing with them. So basically for the month of September I'm committing to think. I can't promise you that all my thoughts will be deep or even worth reading, but I promise that I'll share them with you.
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